Nicholas J. Maragakis

Dr. Maragakis is a professor in the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins and Co-Director of the ALS Clinic. His basic science interests include the role of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His laboratory studies the role of glial progenitor responses during the course of motor neuron degeneration and how mutant SOD1 influences glial stem cell differentiation and ultimately astrocyte function. Other projects have focused on how astrocytes in ALS may help to propagate disease spread both temporally and anatomically.

Dr. Maragakis collaborates with other Johns Hopkins neuroscientists to create lines of pluripotent stem cells from ALS patients that can be used to advance the understanding of ALS astrocyte and motor neuron biology, and eventually help develop drug screening methods for ALS therapeutics. Past projects have included investigating the potential role of astrocyte replacement in ALS using glial stem cells called glial restricted precursors. The team is working on designing a human clinical trial using human glial restricted precursors. His clinical research interests have included both multicenter clinical trials in ALS and investigator-initiated studies investigating the potential role of resistance and endurance exercise in ALS management.